The present invention relates generally to the flavouring of prepackaged or bottled beverages.
The invention has been developed primarily for use in relation to flavoured milk packaged in cartons for immediate consumption at the point of sale, and will be described with reference to this application. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular use.
It is well known that unflavoured or plain milk is sold at a variety of retail outlets in small sized xe2x80x9cTETRA-PACKxe2x80x9d type cartons intended for immediate consumption. Flavoured milk is sold in the same way. Due to pricing constraints applied in Australia and elsewhere, the profit for retailers of plain milk sold in this form is relatively marginal. The same pricing constraints do not apply to flavoured milk and so these products are typically priced substantially higher, often by a factor of three or more. However, the wholesale price of flavoured milk is also substantially more than that of plain milk, making the flavoured product in this form relatively expensive for both the retailer and the consumer. A more cost effective flavouring process would enhance profit margins for the retailers and reduce the price to consumers.
A further problem with prepackaged beverages, and in particular with milk products sold in TETRA-PACK cartons, is that of hygiene. When the carton is opened, the lip is necessarily contacted by the hands of the user, which may not have been recently cleaned. Moreover, the carton will normally have been handled many tomes previously during packing, transportation and stacking on shelves. If the consumer then drinks directly from the lip, a hygiene problem is immediately apparent.
In an attempt to address this problem, straws are often used. However, this is not always successful. Retailers periodically run out of stock and are unable to supply the straws. In any case, the straws themselves are often handled or stored in unhygienic conditions. A further problem is that because the retailer is not normally able to charge an additional price for straws, their supply effectively further reduces the profit margin. Consequently, there is no incentive for the retailer to supply a straw with each carton, and the consumer will often not think to ask.
In order to address the particular hygiene problem associated with the handling of straws, the technique of providing individually pre-wrapped straws is also known. However, these are even more expensive and consequentially, there is even less incentive for retailers to stock and diligently provide them to customers. Accordingly, they have not found widespread acceptance. Many of the factors outlined above apply not only to milk, but to many other beverages such as mineral waters, cordials, carbonated beverages, colas and the like.
A further problem relates to stock and inventory control. Most ranges of milk, carbonated mineral waters, cordials, and other beverages are produced in a variety of different flavours. Consequently, a considerable amount of valuable fridge space is required in retails outlets in order to provide adequate stocks of the full range.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least some of these disadvantages of the prior art.
Accordingly, the invention provides a flavouring receptacle including a generally elongate tubular body, a predetermined measure of flavouring agent in granular form, filtration means disposed at or adjacent each end of the tubular body to retain the granular flavouring agent substantially within the body, the receptacle being adapted for use as a drinking straw in combination with a compatible unflavoured beverage, whereby the flavouring agent is progressively added to the beverage upon passing through the straw.
Preferably, the tubular body contains a predetermined portion of the flavouring agent in suitable concentration for sale and use in conjunction with a compatible pre-packaged unflavoured beverage of appropriate relative volume, thereby permitting a consumer to select and mix the flavouring agent and the unflavoured beverage at a point of sale for immediate consumption.
Advantageously, this arrangement allows the consumer to control the intensity of flavouring delivered to the beverage, according to the rate at which the liquid is sucked through, and hence the xe2x80x9cdwell timexe2x80x9d within, the straw. This also obviates the need for the consumer to dispense the flavouring agent into the beverage as a separate manual process step.
In the preferred embodiment, the retaining means include a perforated cap retained at each end of the straw. The perforations are preferably configured to be sufficiently small to retain the flavouring granules within the straw, and sufficiently large to allow relatively unimpeded passage of liquid through the straw. Each end cap preferably takes the form of an inwardly extending conical formation, to provide an increased surface area for the perforations, and hence a greater cross-sectional flow area for the liquid to pass through into the straw.
Preferably, the internal region of the straw is not filled entirely with flavouring granules, so that a free space is left to facilitate mixing of the flavouring with the plain beverage.
In this embodiment, the height of the flavouring receptacle is preferably greater than the height of the beverage container to avoid inadvertent loss of the straw within the container.
In one embodiment, the receptacle is hygienically sealed in an outer wrapper adapted for removal by the consumer immediately prior to use. The flavouring is preferably in the form of small spheres, crystals or tablets.
The beverage is preferably plain milk, prepackaged in a xe2x80x9cTETRA-PACKxe2x80x9d type carton.